Doffing device



13, 1930 o. F. BLEDSCE. JR 7 1,751,389

' DOFFING DEVI CE Filed Feb. '7, 1928 2 Sheets-Shet 1 27 N .7 INVENTOR QZfiZedsq'e,c/n,

ATTORNEYS Patented Mar, 18, 1 930 osses Miser answer-Fr i revise AppIicaltionefiied Eebrnary This invention relates to improvements in cotton p cking machinery, vanel it consists of the .=eonstnuction-s, combinations and arrangements herein described and claimed. p

One .of the foremost objects of the 'invene tionjis'to provide'a devicefor stripping or sion-s oiithelplantstalks.

Another object ofithe invention is to utilize thereaction of the resilient arms in=throwing oif the stripped cotton Whenlsaid arms depart from theextremities ofEthe needles at theiend ofeapartieu'lar-stripping action;

- A frtherwob'ect of the invention isstoso disposethe 'dofling device-in relationship 'to the so-ca'lled picking cylinder of a cotton picking machine: that the advance of the-revoilving needles along a circular path .o'iin oe 7 tion toward the dofling device Will imposeiin= :Eig. 2 is an elevation ota port-ion i s0-called 1 needle cylinder and the :ass0ciated' tionot the doffing deyice, r Fig. 4 is a d'etail erosssectmnstaken*onfthe creasing tension upon the resilient liar-ms .of thel-at-ter so that the fulliefiectofithe re tion of the arlnsmaysbe gotten When'the arms depart trom the extremities of the-needles reference being had to theaceompiai rying drawings in which;

'Figuite 1 is horizontal sectionoii-enongh ,c

of "aucotton' picking Inaehineto illn-strateithe application ofthe invention;

cloifingdevica: P c g v v: isra d ilspectwe mew ofa-pore' line' 4.: 4.'df :Fig. 3,;a fneedle v bB I-HI'giShOWn in 1 place for the purpose ofillustrating thespplieation of the-claw ofthe re'silient-rarm;

' ityiof instances, v itzis the present cnstgm at slightly .tape inga th fi fl tk mity we 7, 133 we M 25 Fig. 5 isla detail cross section illustrating :amo'ditie'd torm'of'claiv.

Ulhosewho are acquaintedrwith cotton piick-i ing machinery know .thatzoneof the (most etiiectiveetypes employ s2, large'number '.o:f.rap.= idly revolving needles iforithe purpose 'ofar-e-li movingthe-icotton frointhe P-pl-ants. :'I}hese needles are generally arranged in vertical rows :or series! vcirca-1nferentially disposed. The needles oteach series are driven by .a shaft, there being i-appfroprli ate driyingcon nections between the'itwo. The resulting constructlon presents :the appearance ofhwhat I be called :for r' c onyenience, a cylinder. A'lthough .cotton pickers .of :the foregoing type i=haye;been fonnd to be highly (attentive;

there isflstill :room for improvement to, :th

extent of devisingefiicient 'meansctor i-remqw i ing the cotton from the .neecllesf ;P'r mainly. used arrangements :to earryjofut the purpose at timesin least-twoyrespeetsl .Firist, shat acteristic" arrangements for stripping needles of cotton are not effectual j. i;rmi ing any-colleetiomofgem resulting i one sap collected by theipcints of the need the periodic and unavoidable .ahr'as plant stalks. Second, known dew-icesmovingsthe cotton cannothe made oii eficiently' with tapering gneeCl'leswhi v. p eferred'ove traight-sidecl le -L .1 -.dofling device th t QesllQtr: c ape thesides ofthe nee les c pected to remote -aeenmll atiqn Q-fEig;H C 1-; Nor can d'ofling-rlevifee tha ither i upon: or I engages, the needles loosely. .be Peeted :tostr p @1 v iilLOf t 9 H :manner every time. Thep se' 1Q may serieuslyz mp d a -tairlye e ti s r 1 11 contactinglld ngid vic In. the Kiwi-9 emplloyjstraightesidedneedles cotton peta ne y; s de; b13115 0 the E i-embers employed to strip the cotton. J Needles th t r c a a t mentallya a c Pp Xim-fl ly it heei I isatheitaperingpointspf these needl abrade the plant stalk-sat times, and lat slighthqllamitig .Qf-SflP- :fIl-lesan-9mfi havebeen demonstratedzasheing zinefieetnal geals into gum. Known stripping arrangements cannot reach the tapering sldes of the points and therefore are inefiectual in dislodgingthe gum. I

Reference is now made to the drawings.

The immediate description is that of a known struoture. Reference .may be had to the patent to A. Campbell, for cotton harvester,

I granted October 29, 1901, No. 685,440 for an "exemplification I of the needles, indicated 1, are tapering throughout principle. The

as disclosed in the patent, but unlike the patent, are smooth. Tapering needles are preferred in modern practice, but the known ar- I rangements for stripping cotton are ineffectual 1 with straight-sided needles. Each needle has a worm pinion 2 on the inner end,

with'and drive pinions 6 and 7 at the lower that is to say, the end nearest the so-called cylinder. Vertical shafts 3 drive the needles, these; shafts either carrying worm gears or having worm teeth out therein at appropriate places to mesh with the pinions 2. Each shaft 3 drives a number of needles, the

latter being arranged in vertical series.

I Large gears 4 and 5', respectively at the bottom and top of the so-calledcylinder, mesh tion whether the needlesl are rigidly stationed in respect to the cylinder or are capable of limited lateral swinging motion in respect to the shafts 3 during the period of presentation to the cotton plants. The latter function is one of the structure inthe foregoing patent. Neither is it material whether the needles assume tangential or radial positionsinrespect to the cylinder.

The improvement comprises a doffer shaft 9 which carries a plurality of resilient arms 10. and 11, arranged in sets and segregated from eachother by virtue of being secured to opposite sides of the shaft. The means by which the arms are secured may comprise any one of a number of mechanical expedi ents. -The means shown comprises bosses12 tothe fiat sides of which the arms are applied and .fastened at 13.

Each arm is bac'kedby a brace 28 which i may either comprise an integral part of the bosses 12 or be affixed between the resilient arms and bosses by the samemeans that secure the former'to the latter. The effect of the braces is to stiffen the base of the arms andrender the free ends relatively more flexible. But the more important effect .of the braces is to permit flexing or compression of the resilient arms in a d1rect10n radially of the "shaft9 as later appears.

The arms are curved in a direction generi,751,3se

ally opposite to that in which the shaft 9 is turned. Curving of the arms is not necessarily resorted to because other contours may serve the same purpose. A curved contour is preferable, but in any case the extremities or, substantial extremities of the arms are fitted with claws 14. Each claw (Fig. 4) has a tapering or .V-shaped crotch or recess 15, the apex of which is rounded at 16. The diverging sides of the recess provide an adequate entrance for the needle 1, the flaring nature of the inlet compensating for any slight deviation of either the needle or the arm from a predetermined relative position. Upon presentation of the claw 14 to a needle 1, the diverging sides of the recess 15 will first engage the heavy or thick part of the needle. As the claw traverses the needle, the tapering formation of the recess 15 will continuously adapt itself to the diminishing or tapering needle until the extremity of the latter is reached, the area of contact of the recess v15 being approximately of the circumference of the needle. The continuously tapering form of needle and V-shaped recess of the claw 14 are complemental to each other.

Provision is made for renewing the claws 14. Each claw includes a short shank 17 which is secured to the extremity of the respective resilient arm as at 18. Any damage to one of the claws is readily remedied by replacing the damaged claw with a new one. The necessity of removing and discarding the entire arm is avoided. Another advantage of the separable claw is that the latter may be made of a material dissimilar to that of the resilient arm. The latter will usually be made of spring steel. It is believed preferable to make the claw 14 of brass, or the like. The contact of a. brass claw with a steel needle will diminish the friction without reducing the eifectiveness of the scraping action. I

A chain 18 provides a drive for the dofler shaft 9 from the main shaft 8. The respective shafts carry the sprockets 19 and 20 to which the chain is applied. Inasmuch as the doiiing device must serve the needle cylinder it is considered preferable to drive the former. from the latter in order to establish a co-relationship.

Harmony between the turning of the shaft s'8 and 9 must be preserved. The rate of turning of the shaft 9 must. be regulated by the number of vertical series of needles. The doffer shaft 9 carries two sets of resilient arms, each set being intended to strip alternate' series of needles. Inasmuch as fourteen series of needles are shown it follows that the doffer shaft'9 must make seven revolutions to one of the main shaft 8. In practice the sprockets 19v and 20 must be designed to drive the shaft 9 atthe proper ratio of speed. The foregoingsstripping action of a single llO aorta-see of needles presup oses a staggering of the needles in adjacentserie s,- it isproposed tomodify the existing structure of the cotton picking machine to the latter .extent'. Iil't is also necessary to stagger the resilient arms, this being plainlyshownin Fig. 2. The needies in a series under subjection {of theseraping act by the arms one of the dotting sets must pass 'betweenjthe spaces of the arms in the other set before ;moving beyond the jurisdictionof the'dofiing d'evi'oer i Mention "been made of strai ht sided needles whichare used sometimes; bu'ch nee d-les usua ll y have-a -ta'p'er of approximately 1 inches atfthe point. The slightly modir fied formof claw in- Fig. 5 'is' 'designedflfor such needles. -Th'e crotch or recess 29 has straight par'all'el edges which are connected by the rounded ba'se 30." The-edges oi n with the flares 31 which provide anenlarg'ed inlet to the r'ecess. T The parallel "edges -29 of the recess, as well as the rounded base will -scrape the surf'ace oit a straight sided needle, the scraping of the tapering points'of suchvneedles being-confined to the rounded base 30 when the clafiw arri-ves at the tapering point. c

The" operation is "readily understood. Attention is directed to "Fig. '1. The machine is regarded as travelling in the direction of the arrow 21} The needle cylinder and -dotiing device are turning "in the direction of the arrows 22 and 23, The mechanism shown in Fig. '-1must be -regarded bylthe reader as duplicated on the left side of the arrow 21.

The'two needle cylinders define a passage.

way for the cotton plants. p h

Consider the claw 14: of'the arm 10 (Fig. 1) as having received the nearest needle 1.

'Up to this time the needle is supposed to be revolving'rapidly; It maybe regarded as carrying a quantity of cotton entwined there? I upon during the aggression of the needle in respect to the cotton plants. WVhile revolving, the needle also traverses a circular path of motion indicated by the arrow '24. The arm 10 is traversing a circular path of motion designated by the arrow 25.

The mutual advance toward each other of the needle 1 andarm 10 results inanincreased flexing of the 'latteruntil a positionsubstantially as indicated at 26 is arrived at. l The flexing of the arm is not permitted to occur" throughout the full extent of the arm," the brace 28 being providedto preventthat; The backing aflorded by the brace limits the extent of flexure of the arms to a region adja-' cent to the extremity of the brace; as well indicated by the dotted line position 26. The A result is'that the clawr'l will be drawn toward the shaft 9 in 'a substantially radial direction.

The desiredaction maybe W811 illustrated by noting the difference of flexing the fingers eeissjlawith -appr toward the palm" of the ilrum anxh'and in a gripping action, from bowing the enti reiarm and drawing theexten'ded fingerstoward the body with a' sweepingi action. The latter r action would result. in the device :if the resilient-arms were unsupported :atthe 'backby the ;braces*28, B'ut' theprovision of the braces causesxthe extremities e f-the,

resilient arms to flex much on the order of closing the flngersrtoward the apal'm of, the --hn=man 'hand.-

Moreover, the

ma action {in the (distingdevice permits the, claw 1 4 to maintain a" itrue position in respect to the, ne'edles 1.; A

substantial-1y righta'ngular FGlafIiQIIShiP'TQf the claw-*With the axis ofeach needle will" be preserved; I-n other words; the recessand rounded apex v516 will 'IQHlfiiIlqPlflHliGd more or lessfsquarel yagainst the side-"oi-the needles during the entire scrap ng apfi i di There will be no relative rockingof theclaw and attendant wearing 'out of one. orboth of I the recess edges. 1

.As' the foregoing mutual.:advance iof t he neeclleand 'resilientarms continues, he'r-inz.

creasingtensio1rothetlatter makes theclean in-g ofthe needleiS r-f w'a S HbQLy ur A banking of the cotton ahead of the-claw l4 occurs-during the-strippingaetion. .As

soon as the claw 14 gdepartis' f'ror'n the exr" tremity of'the "needle 1- therelaxation or reac actoli the ivhapediieamen n,-hal ihe ein lcumrerenc'e' of-th e ti e sly tap ing'new 'tion of the=resilient arm 1O -causes thelatter o. rea-s'suine the. ;orig'in 1'*shape as indicate 1 title. 1 r nsu es'e h remo o ny d ering the pointy or along the body of theneedle; Eltig mftha may =ha e eceumu=1ated either at may be stated that according-to the gp'atjent m i neabove, he ire tienefr w n f the' needles is; reversed-after: the doffingaction has been accomplished. her=a eof-ro ti6 will be row-er, for'a predetermined:time; until I the aggression of the needles' co amences again, "at which time the rotation et up to the I original rate but in theoppo'sit'adirecnew 14 t Fig-.-=4-,-a p1iis mama-1+1 y or ra e-tar the claw r gs-tee. 7 The latter m ybe reg ed e imu e n t. ma11erbaraad cy1r ream-lg rr nentprespe'ctively, q-wgm use. ,1 .edges'aa tak'elcarel of the straight. si

n dl s 1 W w r ue the rounded base 30 takes *ca-re the' tapering point. The i result} isia blearing: of ac'cnn1uam it oflftoa eonvey r-or-sue o ri cep acle lated cotton as well as the removalof any adhering gum.- Y

While the construction .and arrangement of the improved dofling device is that of a generallypreferred. form, obviously modifications and changes may be made. without departing from the spirit-of the invention or 2. A dofling device comprising a resilient resilient arm, a brace applied to a portion of arm, a claw carried by the arm, and means for swinging the arm to periodically engage the claw witha revolving and advancing needle to performa scraping action; Y 3. A dofiing device comprising a resilient arm having an associated reinforcement confining flexure ofthe arm to a determined zone, anda claw carried by the arm being periodically engageable with the needle at which time said flexure occurs. 1

i 4. -A dolfing device comprising a resilient arm, a brace located along a portion of the armconfining the fiexure of the arm to a predetermined zone beyond said brace, and a claw carried by the arm being periodically engageable with a needle. I l

5. A doffing device comprising a bowed the arm inside of the bow to-confine the flexv ure of the arm'to'a determined z'one beyond T the'end of the brace, and'a claw carried by the arm for engagementwith a needle at which time said flexure occurs. 1

' February, 1928.

cumulating a substance while traversing a prescribed path, a resilient dofiing device straddling the' needle during a portion of said path for continuously and increasingly flexing said device to scrape off thesubstance.

11. In a cotton picker having a needle accumulating a substance while traversing a prescribed path, a resilient dofiing device having a crotch adapted to confront the needle while. traversing -a portion of said path, and means moving said-device in a direction contrary to the path of the needle during contact of the needle with the crotch, thus distorting the contour of said device.

12. In a cotton picker having a needle accumulating a substance while traversing a prescribed path, a resilient dofling device having a crotch to receive the needle, means tomove the do'ffing device along the needle when the needle comes into engagement with the dotting device, and means backing the resilient dofling device for limiting the extent of fieXture thereof.

13. In a cotton picker having a revolving and travelling needle, and a dofiing device moving in a direction contrary to that travelled by the needle and having a crotch, establishing periodic engagements with the needle and mutual scraping actions for the removal of cotton accumulated by the revolution of the needle.

Signed at Greenwood in the county of Lefiore and State of Mississippi this 4th day of OSCAR F. BLEDSOE, JR.

7 A dotting devicecomprising a shaft having a boss, a resilient arm, means by which the resilient arm is attached at one end to the boss, a brace extending from the boss backing the arm over a portion of its length to confine the fiexure of the arm to a limited zone, and a claw carried by the other end of I the arm. having a crotch to-receive a needle for performing a scraping action thereupon.

. I8.- A dofling device comprising. a shaft, a' I resilient .arm carried thereby and being 55 swung in a circular path,-and"a claw carried by, the arm having. a recess with parallel edges and a rounded base, said edges merging withflares,

Y [9; Ina cotton picker having a'needle accumulatinga substance while traversing a prescribed path, a dofling' device having a crotch through which the needle advances :while traversing a portion of said path to strip off the substance. p I0.- In a cottonpicker havinga needle ac- 

